


Adventures At Nerd Con

by assholemurphy



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Couples Cosplay, General nerdiness, M/M, backpack leashes, comic con au, not too relevant, some various character/cosplays from other things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-07-09
Packaged: 2018-03-29 14:39:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3899968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/assholemurphy/pseuds/assholemurphy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Murphy gets reluctantly drug to Comic Con by an enthusiastic Monty, cute shenanigans and arguments ensue.<br/>They cosplay as Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes and Monty keeps darting off, leading to Murphy's decision that a backpack leash may be the solution. It's not, but it's hilarious anyway.</p><p>Various characters from different works of media will be present in the form of cosplays.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Monty-Greeen](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Monty-Greeen).



> Based on some adorable headcanons between Monty-Green and I on tumblr. I hope you like it! :)
> 
> The backpack leash doesn't come in until next chapter, and that will be up sometime this month.
> 
> Also, just a general note: I've never been to a Comic Con, so if you're looking for accuracy, it's probably not here. Sorry.

“Is this necessary?” Murphy whined, flinching slightly when Monty held the pencil up to his face. He really didn't trust sharp objects near his face, no matter who's hands they were in. He couldn't believe Monty had dragged him into this.

_Let's go to ComiCon. It'll be great. We'll get to dress up and act like superheroes. We'll have so much fun! Here, just let me shove you into this incredibly uncomfortable outfit and smear gross black gunk on your face because **details.**_

Some days, Murphy really hated his life. This was one of those days.

“Yes, it is, now stop squirming, you big baby. Just be glad I didn't make you wear the original costume. It had tights.” Monty smeared the eyeliner around Murphy's eyes, only stopping when he resembled a very, very disgruntled raccoon. “There. Done. It looks good.”

“But it feels weird.” Murphy wasn't going to say anything about the tights because with the way Monty was glaring at him, he felt they may still be an option and he wasn't willing to push Monty that far. His current costume was bad enough and the make up made his face feel heavy. He lifted a hand to poke at it only to have his hand smacked away, “Ouch.”

“Don't. If mess it up I'll just have to redo it, and neither of us wants that, do we?”

“No.” Murphy grumbled. It was his face, he should be allowed to touch his own damn face.

“Stop being so grouchy, Murphy. You're going to have fun, I promise.” Monty reassured him for what seemed like the thousandth time. Murphy didn't believe him. What could possibly be fun about some weird nerd convention? “I have to go change, then we can leave, alright?”

“Whatever.” Murphy sighed, sitting down on the foot of the bed to wait. He had no idea why he agreed to this, it was one thing to like superheroes and comic books, it was a whole other level of geeky to dress up and pretend to actually be them. He'd actually considered pretending to be sick so Monty would have to go alone, but after a bit of consideration, he found that going to the con would be better than being stuck in a hotel room all weekend. That, and odd were Monty would have missed the con to take care of him and why did he have to have such a nice boyfriend? It made it really, really hard to say no to him and often resulted in circumstances like the ones he was currently in.

It wasn't that he didn't like the comics, or even better, in his opinion, the movies, he did, he just didn't understand the need to dress up and parade around like a bunch of nerds on Halloween without the reward of free candy. It was ridiculous and he felt stupid sitting there dressed up like some not-quite-villainous assassin. He was going as Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, best friend and, according to Monty, lover of Steve Rogers, Captain America himself. He looked, well, okay, he had to admit, the make up did make his eyes stand out and the suit was kinda of badass, he looked good, but he felt like a fool.

“Okay. I'm ready.”

Murphy looked up at the sound of his boyfriend's voice, eyes widening as he took in Monty's appearance. The dark blue material hugged his figure in all the best places, turning Murphy's thoughts towards less appropriate ideas. Monty held his arms up and turned around slowly, “Well? Do I look alright?”

Murphy swallowed hard, _and he'd thought Chris Evans had a nice ass._ “I think we should just stay here, actually.”

“I already told you we're going, that's the end of it, Murphy.” Monty crossed his arms, glaring at Murphy with determination. He'd put a lot of work into the costumes and he'd had to put up with Murphy's complaining the entire time, he was _not_ going to miss this. No matter how much Murphy whined.

Murphy stood, stretching his arms above his head, the silver fabric that covered his left arm shining as it caught the light. “Yeah, well, that outfit looks stupid.” You know, if stupid meant incredibly hot and holy shit, did he want to tear it off of Monty right there.

“It does?” Monty's face fell. He'd thought it looked very nice. It had taken him forever to get it right, it was as close to the actual outfit as he could manage. How dare Murphy be so rude, just because he didn't want to go was no reason to insult him or his hard work. When this was over, Murphy was going to be sleeping on the couch for weeks.

“Yeah, it does. In fact, I think you should take it off.” Murphy smirked, stepping up to Monty, resting his hand on the smaller boy's hips, rubbing his thumb across the thin fabric. “I could help you, if you want?”

“I'm not-” Monty started to angrily refuse but stopped, realizing what Murphy was trying to do. “You are an ass.”

“Mhm.” Murphy agreed, staring at Monty with a raised eyebrow. “So?”

“No. No, no. I spent too long on these things to miss this con.”

“You won't miss it. We might be a little late, but...” Murphy trailed off with a shrug.

“I don't want to be late, either. Do you even know how much our tickets cost?”

“Yes.” _Too fucking much._ They'd spent too much money just to dress up like geeks and run around with other geeks doing geeky things, but Monty had asked nicely and Murphy had been more than a little distracted when he'd said okay. Monty could be a manipulative little brat at times and Murphy loved it.

“Alright, then.” Monty nodded, the matter settled, much to Murphy's displeasure. They were going to the con and they were going to get there in the next half hour, not a minute later.

“Can I at least have a kiss?”

“That depends. Is it some terrible ploy to make us late?”

“It might be. Please?”

“You're lucky I love you.” Monty huffed, tilting his head and rolling his eyes, letting Murphy know that, yes, he was going to kiss him, but he was not amused in the slightest by it.

“Very.” He was so very, very lucky to have Monty and it still astounded him that Monty wanted him back. He leaned down, cupping Monty's cheek in his hand and pressed their lips together, soft and sweet. The kiss lasted just a few seconds, neither of them trying to deepen it past what it was, as Monty had said, they didn't have time for that. Murphy pulled back, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Alright, let's go to your nerd con.”

“Comic Con, Murphy. Try not to insult anyone there.” Monty sighed, grabbing their badges off the counter and slipping his over his head, handing Murphy the other one before he picked his shield up and fixed it to his back, securing it with the straps he and Murphy had spent an embarrassingly long time trying to adjust. “And please, for the love of Phil Coulson, _do not punch anybody._ I don't want to get thrown out.”

“I'll promise not to punch anyone if they'll promise not to make me want to.” Murphy huffed, grabbing his bag and slinging it across his shoulder. He didn't get into as many fights as everyone made it see like he did. There was only that one time with the drunk frat boys at the bar and then there was that one cop who had no business putting his hands anywhere near Monty -that was way out of line, he didn't care how drunk Monty was- and the time with the hot dog stand guy and okay, so maybe he got into a lot of fights, but everyone else started them.

“ _Murphy.”_

“Fine.”

“Thank you.” Monty nodded, opening the door. “Now, let's go be heroes.”

“More like losers in capes.”

“Neither one of us is wearing a cape.”

“It's a metaphorical cape.”

“Of course it is.”

 

**._-*-_.**

 

“This is the biggest congregation of nerds I've ever seen in my life.” Murphy grumbled when they had gotten everything settled so they could enjoy the con, though, Murphy wasn't so sure 'enjoy' was the right word, 'survive' fit better.

“What did I say about insulting people?”

“That it was funny and I should do it often and very loudly.”

“ _Murphy.”_ Monty all but growled, exasperated with his boyfriend's inability to act like an adult, just this once. “Can you please, please, just _try_ to enjoy this? I get it, you think it's stupid, but I don't and it would be really nice if you would stop being such a dick about it, alright?”

Murphy blinked, mouth opening to form another sarcastic comment but he stopped himself. He'd watched Monty make the costumes, been pulled along to so many thrift stores he'd lost count, he'd been poked, prodded, and blackmailed into helping with them and if he had found the process exhausting, Monty must have found it to be even worse. Sure, this place was crawling with fresh out of their mother's basement type losers, but Monty had been really excited about it since they'd bought the tickets two months ago. It meant a lot to him and Murphy had to admit, he'd been a huge pain in the ass about it. If Monty could put up with his bullshit for as long as he had, then Murphy could deal with a few days of nerd crap, and he could do it without acting like such a dick. “I'm sorry.”

“If I'd known you'd hate it so much I wouldn't have dragged you here in the first place.” Monty continued, still upset. “I just thought that it would be fun, you know? Couples cosplay has always been one of the things I'd wanted to do and you said that you were alright with it when I first asked, but if you don't want to be here, then-”

“Monty, I said I'm sorry. I'll behave, okay? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a jerk about it.” If this con made Monty happy, then Murphy was going to deal with it and act like it was the best damn thing on Earth. “I'll stop being a dick.”

“Swear?”

“I swear.” Murphy promised. Really, he shouldn't have been such an ass in the beginning, it was a bad habit and he honestly should try to work on it. “I won't be a dick about your nerd con and I will actually try to enjoy myself.”

“You're not going to stop calling it nerd con, are you?”

“Do I have to?”

“No.” Monty gave in, sighing. “Just come on.” He nodded towards one of the booths that lined the walls. “Let's go try to have fun.”

“Hey, wait a second.”

“What now?”

“I'm sorry.”

“You already apologized.”

“You're still angry.”

“Yeah, well, I'm not exactly happy with right now, so...” Monty shrugged, frowning. He loved Murphy, he really did, but he was such a pain sometimes.

Murphy nodded, understanding. He held his tongue to keep from apologizing again. He hated Monty being upset with him, it was the worst feeling in the world knowing he'd disappointed him. “Can I make it up to you?”

“Sure, pretend to enjoy the con with me and stop making asshole comments about everything you don't like.”

“But I _am_ an asshole.”

“That's fairly obvious, but thanks for confirming it.” Monty snapped. He crossed his arms and glared at Murphy, wondering exactly why he'd thought this would be a good idea in the first place.

Murphy winced internally. He was only fucking this up more. “Okay, okay, I'm sorry.” He held his hands up in surrender. “No more asshole comments.”

Monty nodded, still frowning. “Good, now just pretend you don't hate it.”

“I don't hate it, Monty. It's strange, incredibly geeky, and a little scary, mainly because I think Green Lantern over there wants to eat me, but I don't hate it. I'll stop being a jerk about it, okay?”

“Okay.” Monty accepted, holding out his hand. “Come on, there's some really cool booths that I want to check out.”

Murphy took the offered hand, squeezing it once before following along after his boyfriend. He had to admit, the con did look cool once you got past all the weirdos in spandex. _No asshole comments. You are one of those weirdos in spandex. Well, not technically spandex, but the point stands._ Right.

“Holy shit! Murphy!” Monty tugged on Murphy's arm, dragging him along faster, weaving through the crowd of people until finally coming to a stop in front of what looked like a giant brick building. He stood there grinning,eyes wide and bright, “The Walking Dead, Murphy!”

“That's the one with the zombies, right?” Murphy asked, glad to see Monty smiling again.

“Yeah! Come on, let's go in.”

“Again with the arm tugging.” Murphy muttered under his breath as he followed Monty inside. Murphy wrinkled his nose in disgust when they entered the room, “Are those heads? In fish tanks?”

“Yeah, from Woodbury. This is the governor's room.” Monty explained, darting over to the chair next to them and dropping down into it. “Take my picture?”

“Yeah, sure. Hold on a minute.” Murphy dug through his bag until he found the camera he'd stuck in it last night. “Alright, you r- What are you doing?”

Monty sat in the chair leaning forward, hands pressed together with a rather sinister -or as sinister as he could manage, which was probably about as scary as one of those marshmallow ghost things that appeared every Halloween- look on his face. His elbows rested on his knees and he had his hands pressed together, like he was contemplating who to behead next. Murphy hoped it wasn't him. “I'm posing.”

“Ri-i-ght.” Murphy nodded, lifting the camera up so he could take the photo. “You look absolutely terrifying.”

“Shut up.”

“Make me.” Murphy taunted, turning the camera off and putting it back in his bag.

“Come here and I will.” Monty beckoned, grabbing onto Murphy as soon as he was within arm's reach. He pulled him down so that he was bent over the chair, faces almost touching. “How dare you challenge me, I'm Captain America.”

“I do what I want.”

“Wrong character, Murph, that's Loki.”

“Close enough.”

“So far off.”

“Shut up and kiss me already, you nerd.” Murphy demanded, rolling his eyes and holding on to the chair's sides for balance.

Monty obliged, brushing his lips against Murphy's. He wasted no time in deepening it, nipping at Murphy's top lip and licking into his mouth. He tangled the fingers of one hand in Murphy's hair, tugging gently and receiving a quiet moan in response, his other hand gripped tightly to Murphy's shirt, holding him close. His shield dug into his back uncomfortably, but he didn't care, he was much more interested in how it felt to have Murphy pressed close to him, teeth dragging across his bottom lip and, okay, maybe he should have taken Murphy up on his offer that morning.

The sound of a throat being cleared had them pulling away from each other quickly, looking around for the source. “Real romantic setting you two have here, don't'cha think, Daryl.” A blonde woman giggled. She was dressed in torn up clothing and Murphy assumed she was cosplaying one of the characters from the show. Beth, if he was right.

“Well it certainly ain't a candlelit hotel room, but this being the apocalypse and everything, I suppose we should cut them some slack.” Daryl shrugged, smirking at them with obvious amusement.

“We're sorry, we were-” Monty began only to be cut off.

“Oh, we saw what you were doing.” The man told them. “Nearly scarred poor Beth here for life. Innocent little thing that she is.”

“Oh, fuck off.” She retorted, rolling her eyes. “You two want us to leave and come back later or-”

“No, no, we were just leaving. Sorry about that.” Monty told them, standing up and grabbing Murphy's hand. “Nice meeting you two, great costumes!”

“Thanks.” The girl laughed, dropping down into the now-vacant chair. “So, this is what it feel's like to be governor, huh?”

“I assume there's a bit more murder involved, but yeah.” Daryl replied, watching as Monty dragged Murphy out of the room. “See ya around, Captain!”

They left the booth quickly, only pausing to take a selfie with one of the zombies near the exit, managing to make it out before Murphy collapsed into laughter. “Oh, god, that was so-”

“Horrible? Awkward? Embarrassing?” Monty supplied, glaring at his laughing friend.

“All of them.” Murphy agreed. “That was fucking terrible, fuck. Zero of ten, would not recommend.”

“Then why are you laughing?”

“I don't know, man. Fuck, next time we should find a place with a door that locks or something. There's going to be a next time, right?” Murphy teased, smirking now that the embarrassment had died down a little.

Monty groaned, dropping his head onto Murphy's shoulder. “I hate you so much.”

“Aw, Cap! Keep it up and you just might hurt my feelings!”

“Shut up, you're awful.”

“I think you mean 'amazing.'”

“I don't.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

Murphy laughed, poking Monty gently. “Come on, there's more booths you wanted to see, right? We should probably check them out before the first panel starts.”

“Yeah, okay, but no more making out in rooms full of decapitated heads.” Monty nodded, straightening up.

“You started it.” Murphy shrugged. At least Monty didn't seem to be angry with him anymore, and he had to admit, Monty had been right, this was fun, so far, at least. Maybe he should have been more willing to give it a chance.

“I did.” Monty admitted, pleased with himself now that the embarrassment had worn off. He spun around, scanning the crowd looking for the next place they should go. “Hey, I wanna go over there.” Monty made a vague pointing gesture before taking off, leaving Murphy standing alone in a sea of fictional characters.

“Where? Monty- Fuck.” Murphy sighed, shaking his head and taking off after him. It didn't take very long to find him, he hadn't gone far, but Murphy still scowled when he looked up from the bin of comics he was looking through. “Don't run off like that.”

“Sorry.” Monty apologized, not sounding very sorry at all. “They have Teen Titans comics.”

“Uh-huh.” Murphy nodded, “The show's better.”

Monty gasped, holding a hand over his heart and pretending to be scandalized, “That is blasphemy. How dare you?”

“It's true.”

“Liar.” Monty turned to the comic in his hand, “He doesn't mean it, he's talking nonsense.”

“Okay, then.” Murphy rolled his eyes at his boyfriend's antics. He was used to it but it never failed to amuse him. “I'm going over there, alright?” He pointed to the booth across from the one where they currently were. “Do not go anywhere. There's a lot of weirdos here.” _And also, I'd rather not be left alone in the middle of them._

“You're one of them.” Monty muttered, comparing two of the comics.

“Yes, but I'm _your_ weirdo, that's the difference.” Murphy chuckled, walking off towards the booth that had peaked his interest. He wasn't too big of a fan of comic books, he'd always preferred just to watch the shows or movies or what have you, so they weren't really something he was interested in, but the booth that was piled high with various actual books, the kind without pictures or villains with surprisingly terrible fashion sense, that he couldn't stay away from.

 

**._-*-_.**

 

“You bought how many books?” Monty asked with a raised eyebrow, staring at the bag Murphy was holding as they walked towards the room their first panel would be in.

“Like, four. Or eight? It's eight, but that's not a lot, Monty.” Murphy defended himself. “Besides, how many comics did you buy?”

“Five, and a poster, but they aren't nearly as heavy as books.”

“Yeah, well, I'm a genetically engineered assassin, I can handle it.”

“You're a loser, that's what you are.”

“Yes, that, too.” Murphy agreed, “Are you going to hand me your bag so I can carry it, or...?”

“Such a gentleman.” Monty laughed, handing over his bag and pecking Murphy on the cheek. “Thanks.”

“Shut up, it's just because you'd end up leaving it somewhere.” Murphy grumbled, denying the accusation and turning his head, refusing to acknowledge the burning in his cheeks. He wasn't being nice, he was being practical.

“Sure, sure, whatever you say.”

“I say you're a pain.” Murphy told him, attaching their bags to the strap of his messenger bag so he c=wouldn't have to carry them around the whole time.

Monty opened his mouth to reply but all that came out was a muffled 'oof' as he ran into another cosplayer, this one seeming to be a non armored Tony Stark, nearly falling over. “Oh, my god, I'm sorry.”

“Hey, there, Cap, you alright?” The guy asked, reaching out and steadying Monty. “It's cool, man. You good?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, sorry.”

“No, no, it's fine. Can't say there's anyone here I'd rather be run into by. You got a name, Captain, or is it just Steve?” Tony asked, hand still on Monty's arm. “I'm Alex, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, I'm Monty.” He smiled, glad he wasn't getting yelled at for running into someone.

“Cool name. You got a number to go with it?”

Murphy snorted sarcastically, watching their interaction with mild amusement. That's had to be the lamest line thing he'd ever heard. However, if this guy, Alex, whatever, didn't stop touching Monty, _he_ was going to be the one needing a metal arm. Maybe Murphy could beat him with Monty's shield. It was plastic, but it might do some damage. It would look cool, at least.

Monty laughed awkwardly, “Um, I-”

That was Murphy's cue. Monty could handle himself well enough, but the second some asshole started making him uncomfortable, Murphy was more than glad to step in.

“Babe, the panel starts soon. We should probably head that way.” Murphy cut in, glaring daggers at Alex, smiling internally when the guy finally removed his hand from Monty's arm. He wrapped a protective arm around Monty's waist and pulled him close, smirk forming when Monty leaned into him, relieved he hadn't misread the situation. “Hey, Alex. I'm Murphy.”

“Murphy.” Alex spoke his name like it was something filthy, but he said it with a smile that made Murphy want to punch him. “Hi. I take it you two are here together?” The way he said it implied he meant more than just for the con.

“We are.” Murphy nodded, still glaring. He wondered exactly how much trouble he would get in if he strangled this jerk. Probably a lot, but it would probably be worth it. “And we're going to be late for our panel, so if you don't mind-”

“Is that the 'Future of Geek' panel?” He asked, pulling a paper out of his pocket, “That's the one just down there, right?”

“Yeah.” Monty answered, hesitantly. “Why?”

“I'm going to that one, too. Mind if I join you?”

“I don't-” Murphy shook his head but Alex stopped him.

“Look, I promise not to hit on your boyfriend anymore.” Alex held his hands up in surrender, grin never faltering “I didn't know he was taken or I wouldn't have in the first place.”

“It's fine, Murphy.” Monty assured him. “Let's just go before it starts.”

“Fine.” Murphy reluctantly gave in. He didn't like this Alex guy and he didn't want him and his weird grin anywhere near Monty. But, Monty was being polite and Murphy would play nice if that's what he wanted. He had promised after all.

Monty smiled at him and began walking, Murphy's arm still around his waist. He never said it out loud, but he liked it when Murphy got protective. He never went too far with it but always stepped in whenever Monty needed him to. It made him feel loved, which wasn't saying much, he supposed, being around Murphy in general made him feel loved.

Murphy did his best to ignore their unwanted companion as they found seats, purposely choosing two on the end where there was no room for Alex. He had hoped he was being clever enough to rid themselves of him but had no such luck as Alex simply seated himself in the row in front of them. He currently sat turned in his seat so that he could chat with Monty who, believing Alex's promise not to flirt with him anymore, seemed too actually enjoy the conversation. Murphy did his best to hide his distaste, there was no reason to be rude, it would only get him in trouble with Monty and he didn't want that.

He was glad when the panel began and Alex had to stop their conversation, leaving Monty to listen intently to whatever was being said by the people in the front of the room. Murphy wasn't paying attention to it, he was too busy imagining how much damage Monty's fake shield could do to Alex. Maybe that was why Monty had refused to let him bring a weapon of his own. Probably for the best. He probably should work out his jealousy thing, but dammit, could anyone honestly blame him? Murphy was _Murphy_ and Monty was amazing and fuck if he wasn't perpetually terrified Monty would find someone else, someone better, and Murphy wouldn't be able to do a thing about it because if that was what Monty wanted, he'd let him have it, but the thought caused his stomach to twist uncomfortably. He shook off the thoughts and turned his attention to the panelists, forcing himself to listen to what they were talking about until he could leave that stupid room.

 

**._-*-_.**

 

“That was awesome. Did you hear what he said? He thinks the era of comics is going to last for at least another decade, maybe longer, that's fucking awesome!” Monty chattered on looking at Murphy instead of where he was going.

Not wanting another run-in -because that hadn't been pleasant at all, he as glad they'd managed to ditch that creep in the crowd of people when they left- Murphy steered him by the shoulders through the throngs of people milling about. “Uh-huh, that's great, babe.”

“Yeah! Maybe we'll actually get a Black Widow movie eventually. And a live action Teen Titans!”

“That would be fucking fantastic.” Murphy wasn't going to hold his breath, though. “I wish they would have done that instead of Aqua Man.”

Monty snorted, nodding in agreement. “Lamest superhero ever. Like, I get it, he can talk to fish, but how is that more interesting that _literally any other DC character_?”

“It's not. Honestly, I'm surprised he hasn't been eaten by a shark. You gotta figure not every sea creature would like him.”

“I don't think that's how it works. Can't he like, control them with his mind or something?”

“Do I look like someone who reads Aqua Man comics to you?”

“Good point.” Monty conceded. “Oh, hey!” He stopped, Murphy not realizing it and bumping into him.

“What?” He asked, exasperated and annoyed. That shield was annoying, especially when you smacked into it. “That stupid shield makes you look like a turtle.”

“I want food.” Monty pointed towards a concession stand, purposely ignoring the turtle comment. “It's like, noon-ish, right?”

“It's almost two, Monty.”

“No, seriously?”

“Yes.” Murphy held his phone out as proof. “What do you want?”

“Pizza, I think there's pizza.”

“It's a _Comic Con,_ full of geeks and dorks and teenagers, Monty, of course there's going to be pizza.” At least, if they didn't they were losing out on a huge profit.

“Then let's find it, I'm starving.” Monty rushed off, impatient.

“I need a leash.” Murphy huffed under his breath as he followed after him, catching up to him in line. “Did I mention the not running off thing, cause I'm pretty sure I did.”

“Sorry.”

“Are you? Are you really?”

“No.” Monty admitted. “Sorry for not being sorry?”

Murphy rolled his eyes at Monty. “Whatever. Stop running off. Next time I'll leave you here and go find something better to do.”

“You wouldn't dare. You're my Bucky, you can't leave me alone.”

“Bucky technically left Cap alone for like, seventy years.”

“He fell off a train and then was used as an assassin, that doesn't count!”

“Well maybe that wouldn't have happened if Steve wasn't always getting into trouble.”

“Steve saved Bucky!”

“You think Bucky wanted him to? I'm telling you right now, Bucky would have rather died than have Steve turned into Captain America.”

“That isn't the point.”

“You're right, it's not. The point is stop running off, you brat, you're going to get into trouble or something.”

“How am I going to get in trouble?”

“I don't know, but knowing you, it'll be something stupid and potentially life-threatening.”

“I can take care of myself!” Monty fumed. He wasn't a child, he wasn't going to get hurt, he didn't need constant supervision!

“I'm not saying that you can't!” Murphy retorted. He'd gotten off track and this argument was not what he'd wanted to come of this. He sighed, rubbing the back of his sleeve across his nose, “Look, I'm not saying you can't take care of yourself, I'm just saying it makes me worry.”

“Then maybe you should keep me on a leash.” Monty grumbled, moving up in line. “Then you wouldn't have to worry about me running off, would you?”

That actually didn't sound like such a bad idea. Murphy made a mental note to see what he could do about that suggestion, in the meantime, he needed to calm Monty down, they were drawing all sorts of weird looks. “Monty, stop it. I just meant that I get worried when you run off, alright? I trust you can take care of yourself, I do, but we are surrounded by thousands of people that neither of us knows. Just, stop running off from me, or at least tell me where you're going before you do.”

“Yeah, Cap! Listen to Bucky!” A voice called, a part of the crowd dissolving into laughter.

Monty cracked a small smile, “Okay.”

“Good.” Murphy nodded, pleased. “Cause next time you do it, I'm buy a leash.”

“That's a bit extreme.” Monty giggled. “But fine. I'm sorry for running off.”

Murphy shrugged. As long as Monty would stop doing it, they were good. He'd read horror stories about what could happen to people at these things and, maybe it was the costumes, but Murphy couldn't help but imagine Monty being hurt by some jackass in a Red Skull mask. He'd actually seen one of those around, he wasn't sure what kind of person would willingly dress up as the Red Skull, knowing who he was and what he stood for, but it just furthered his worries. There were strange people in the world, and he was terrified of what one of them might do to someone as openly trusting as Monty.

“Hey, Earth to Murphy!” Monty snapped him from his thoughts, waving a hand in front of Murphy's face. “You alright there, space man?

“Yeah?” Murphy blinked, looking at him, “Did I miss something?”

“The last seventy years of your life due to being brainwashed, but that's cool, we'll work through it.”

“What?”

Monty sighed, shaking his head. “We need to pay for the pizza.””

“Right. Your suit doesn't have pockets.” Murphy smirked, pulling his wallet out of his pocket and handing it to Monty.

“Yes, I know. Thank you for pointing out that I suck at remembering the minor details like where the hell I'm supposed to put my phone.” Monty glared at him for a second before paying for their food.

“Your phone is in my bag. Like everything else is.”

“I know, that wasn't what I meant.”

“Aw, don't get all huffy, sweetheart. I didn't mean to upset you.” Murphy grinned wickedly, ruffling Monty's hair.

“Jackass!”

“Now, don't call names, it's rude.”

“You're rude.”

“Only incredibly.” Murphy laughed, grabbing their pizza from the man with a nod of thanks. “Where do you want to sit?”

“On my ass.”

“Hey, I'm supposed to be the smartass in this relationship.”

“Oh? Then what am I supposed to be?”

“The one who reluctantly puts up with me for the sake of love but then ends up shoving me out a ten story window one day.”

“Sounds romantic.” Monty snarked, sitting down at a table away from the majority of the crowd.

“Well, I suppose you could light some candles first or something.”

“Shut up and eat, Murph.” Monty snorted, shoving a slice of pizza towards his face.

“I wasn't done talking, though!” Murphy whined with a laugh as he took the slice.

“Yes, you were, you just didn't know it, yet.”

 

**._-*-_.**

 

Five booths, two bathroom breaks, a stop at a second concession stand for what Murphy was sure was liquid sugar, but Monty had sworn it was amazing, ice cream -which had almost led to a very inappropriate set of photos from whatever Stucky fangirl had followed them for half an hour, she'd been polite, though, no bad company,- and one strange Star Wars cosplay -no, really, Murphy wanted nothing more than to forget _that_ character in _that_ outfit, nobody should ever have that image in their heads and he was never going to be able to look at Darth Vader the same again- later, Murphy found himself in a sea of unfamiliar faces. _Alone._

He'd turned his back for two seconds and Monty had darted off. That was it, he was buying a leash for him, end of story. In fact, had Bucky had a leash for Steve, a lot of things could have been stopped before they happened, maybe he should send Marvel an email or something. However, that wasn't going to solve his current problem, which was locating his very hyper -he was never eating that much sugar again, no,- very _not here_ boyfriend.

Scowling as he walked through the crowd, Murphy managed to find everywhere that Monty was _not_ easily, and that seemed to be everywhere. No matter where he turned or which room he looked in, the was no sign of him. Now, looking around the courtyard full of various costumed people and food trucks, he was almost ready to scream, “I swear to god I'm going to handcuff him to me.”

“Someone got your panties in a twist, big guy?” A giggle startled him, reminding him that there were other actual people here, they weren't just props meant to confuse and frustrate him during his search.

He turned towards the woman sitting on the railing, taking in her appearance, the red and black outfit giving her away immediately. “Harley Quinn.” If he wasn't so focused on finding Monty he probably would have asked for a picture of something because, wow, Harley Quinn. He found no shame in admitting she was his favorite DC villain out of all of them. He might have even had a crush on her when he was a kid, but that was beside the point. He had more important things to do than fall all over himself right now.

“Yup. You lookin' for someone? Or will I do? Could use some company while I wait for my Ivy to get back to me.”

“Uh, no, I'm actually trying to find my Steve. He took off and I haven't been able to find him. I'm getting a bit worried, honestly.” He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Aw, I see. Well, you wouldn't be a good Bucky if you weren't.” She smiled at him and he found it almost reassuring. Whoever she was, he liked her, much better than any of the other people he'd met here. “I've seen a lot of Steve's today, anything special about yours?”

 _You mean other than everything?_ Uh, he's shorter than most, like, five-nine, and he's got dark hair, hopped up on sugar, so he's probably trying to actually fight Hydra or something equally ridiculous. He's got the Winter Soldier suit on, too. Does that narrow it down any?”

“A bit.” She nodded. “I saw a Winter Soldier Steve near the concession, and two of them by Hall B, but I think they were all blond. Maybe try near the anime panel rooms?”

“I checked, he's not there, but there are an assload of Sasukes.”

She laughed, nodding, “Yeah, there usually are. Oh, hey- Katie!” She waved a hand, jumping off of her perch and rushing over to a green clad woman walking towards them, “Katie have you seen a short, dark haired, Winter Soldier Steve around here? My buddy Bucky's tryin' to find his.”

“Yeah, there's one by the restrooms. He's kinda bouncy and cute?” Katie, apparently Harley's Ivy, told him, pointing towards the building she'd just walked out of.

“Yeah, sounds right.” Murphy nodded, a spark of hope igniting. Maybe he'd be able to find Monty after all. “In Hall A?”

“Yeah. Hope it's him.”

“So do I.” Murphy said. “Thanks!” He gave a little wave and walked off towards where Hall A was.

“No problem, Bucky! Hope you find your baby!” Harley called after him, waving.

He smiled back over his shoulder at the two before entering the building once more, walking as quickly as he could without bumping into people not stopping until he was at the entrance to Hall A, where he stood and searched the crowd, begging whatever weird Nerd Con god there was that he could find Monty and that he wasn't in any trouble. If Monty had gotten kidnapped or hurt or managed to break something important, Murphy was going to flip. That idiot should have just stayed with him where he was and they would have eventually made it over here, hell, they had a panel to go to over here, so they would have eventually ended up here. Why Monty had to take off and leave him behind, he'd never understand.

He couldn't see him from where he was so he began making his way towards the restrooms, hoping Monty -if that was the Captain America that the Ivy lady had seen, and he hoped it had been- was still there. If he wasn't, Murphy would probably end up banging his head against a wall for the next four hours.

Relief hit him like a wave the second he saw the familiar plastic shield and mop of black hair bouncing around, talking to a very amused looking Black Widow cosplayer. Murphy sighed, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Monty was safe, he hadn't been kidnapped by some crazy guy in sweaty spandex and drug off to who the fuck knew where. Monty was safe and right in front of him an so completely _dead._

“Monty Green, I swear to god I'm going to kick your ass, you little shit, why the fuck did you run off _again_?” Murphy ground out through gritted teeth as he approached. He was relieved but also angry, he wasn't going to hurt Monty, he never would, but he was going to make him aware of exactly how bad of a decision he'd made. He was vaguely aware of the cosplayer leaving but paid them no mind, “You were supposed to go throw your cup away and _come right back._ What part of that is hard to understand? You promised you wouldn't take off again and then you go and do it and, Jesus, Monty, what if you'd gotten hurt? There are so many creeps here, have you not seen how many of them there were at that pony thing? They like cute things, Monty! You're cute! And they aren't the only ones, do you know how many horror stories there are online about shitty people using these cons as a way to, like, take people? A fucking lot, Monty! A fucking lot! You could have been hurt or you could have ended up going home with another Bucky because dressed like this we all look the same and you wouldn't have known until you were halfway across the country and I have your phone so you couldn't have called me. _What the hell were you thinking? What if something happened to you?_ ”

Monty blinked at him, argument dying on his lips, no, he wasn't a child and he was more than capable of taking care of himself, but he saw Murphy's point. They were surrounded by strangers, a good portion of which were costumed and had their identities masked, it was the perfect environment for bad people to do bad things and he guess Murphy had a right to be worried about him. “I'm sorry.”

“Sorry? Monty, you promised not to run off again and then you go and do just that!”

“I know. I'm sorry, alright? I didn't think, I got distracted and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you.”

“Well, you did.” Murphy huffed, anger fading away. Monty was safe and hadn't gotten himself into any trouble and that was what mattered. “I'm getting a leash next time.”

“I said sorry.”

“And I said if you ran off again I was going to get a leash. A child leash so you can't just take off and disappear like some kind of super soldier Houdini. It's worrying and not amusing in the slightest and if it wasn't for Harley Quinn and Ivy I never would have found you and, fuck- Monty don't do that to me again, please.”

“You're just being over protective.” Monty muttered, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. Which was sweet, if not a little over the top. Monty couldn't say it bothered him, the protective bit, at least, Murphy working himself up into a mess, that bothered him. He was going to give himself a heart attack one day.

“Yes, I am, because you're being reckless and I've seen these creeps look at you, it's terrifying to think that I could lose you just because you were too trusting.”

“That's not- Murphy, I'm not going to get lost and nobody's going to hurt me. Stop focusing on the worst case scenario, it's not good for you.”

“Can you blame me, Monty?” Murphy was terrified of a lot of things. Spiders, the ocean, that wooden roller coaster at Coney Island, a lot of things, but he wasn't scared of any of those half as much as he was scared of losing Monty and, yeah, he jumped to conclusions and dwelled on worst case scenarios, but it was a _rational fear,_ at least, he thought it was.

“Murphy,” Monty sighed. “You need to chill for a minute, alright? I'm fine, you're fine, everybody is fine. I'm sorry I ran off. I just figured you'd come here first since our next panel is here. I'm sorry, but I'm alright, see?” He stood up from the wall and held his arms out, showing he was in one piece. “You need to calm down, okay? I won't run off again, you can even hold my hand the whole time if you want, but please, stop getting so worked up over things. I don't know why you even read those stupid horror stories, anyway Half of them aren't true and the other half are exaggerated to the point of being ludicrous. You can't believe everything they say. Nobody is going to try to hurt me, I'm not going to get into any trouble, okay?”

“Okay.” Murphy nodded, placated for the time being. “Still getting that leash, though.”

“Fine, put me on a leash, see how long you can handle that.” Monty rolled his eyes, grabbing a hold of Murphy's hand and pulling towards the room where their next panel would be. “Come on, I think we've got some time before the panel, maybe we can find better seats this time, yeah?”

“Yeah, probably.” Murphy allowed himself to be drug around, absentmindedly going through his phone. It was a big city, surely one of the stores around here had to carry them. He was serious, he was buying a damn backpack leash. He was probably going to end up sleeping on the couch when they returned home, but it would be hilarious and therefore worth it.

“Sit and put your phone away.” Monty directed, gently pushing Murphy down into a chair.

Murphy grunted in response, absorbed in his quest. His lack of reply drew a sigh from Monty as he sat down beside him, tapping Murphy and getting him to move so he could lean against him.

“Playing a game or something?”

“Or something.”

Monty huffed, annoyed at the lack of attention he was getting. You'd think for someone who was so terrified of losing him, Murphy would pay him more attention. “I'm going to go find a different Bucky if you don't pay attention to me.” He threatened, poking Murphy in the thigh. “I want attention.”

“Give me two seconds, okay?” Murphy compromised, saving the directions to the store on his phone and putting it away, setting his bag on the floor in front of him. “There, happy?”

“Yes.” Monty nodded, dropping his head onto Murphy's shoulder and smiling at him. “The panel starts in like, twenty minutes.”

“There's already so many people in here.” Murphy was almost shocked, because, honestly, who wanted to wait twenty minutes in a room being bored out of their mind just to see some half-famous celebrity? He didn't get it, but he was only here because Monty dragged him, so, as far as he cared, it could be the dullest, most uninteresting twenty minutes of his life and he'd be happy to spend them there. Not that he would ever admit to that out loud.

“Uh-huh.” Monty tugged at Murphy's hand, dropping it on top of his head, demand clear.

“But it's so _boring._ ” Murphy complained, running his fingers through Monty's hair and tugging at the ends, playing with it as he'd been ordered to.

“Most of them bring friends to talk to or books to read, things like that.”

“I don't want to do any of that.”

“Then be bored.” Monty shrugged.

“What about you, huh? You can't tell me you aren't bored.”

“I'm not. I'm comfortable, actually. Very comfortable. We should probably leave after this panel, though, if we plan to get anything decent to eat. Concession food is fine at first but I feel like I'm going to die.”

Murphy rolled his eyes, “That's because you ate too much sugar.” Truth be told, he'd be glad to get out of there, so many people and the frantic searching for Monty had worn him down. He'd be glad to get back to the hotel and just eat take out or something.

“Maybe.”

“You want Chinese or something like that? They've got a few take out menus in the lobby, we could look through them when we get back.”

“You don't want to go eat and then go back to the hotel?”

“Dressed like this?” Murphy asked with a raised eyebrow. Nothing against Bucky Barnes, but his fashion sense didn't exactly blend in too well.

“That's a good point.” Monty agreed. No since in running around dressed like superheroes if they could help it.

They sat in silence until the panel began, Murphy only trying to remove his hand once, resulting in an unhappy sigh from Monty. Murphy thought it was adorable, even if it was a pain in that ass to continuously play with his hair for two hours.

When the panel was over, Monty jumped up, stretching and smiling at Murphy. “Let's go?”

“Yes, please.” Murphy agreed, making sure he grabbed his bag from the floor. He couldn't wait to get out of there, there was only so much geek he could stand and he had reached his max several hours ago. After this was all over he wasn't sure he was going to want to see another superhero for months.

They walked, hand in hand, down the streets, Monty pointing out anything that caught his eye and Murphy doing his best to pay attention, despite his tiredness. They made it back to the hotel ten minutes after the sun had set, the streetlights illuminating everything enough to make them wonder if it was even nighttime at all.

They called for take out and ate, Monty chattering on about whatever had been talked about in his panels, neither of which had been able to hold Murphy's interest, but hearing Monty retell what happened, he couldn't help but listen and comment occasionally. Unlike Murphy, Monty didn't seem to be tired at all, which was probably due to the sugar rush he was still riding. By the time the fell asleep, take out containers sitting on the TV stand, costumes having been hung up as per Monty's demands, and goodnight kisses shared that had lasted longer than what could be called necessary, it was at least two in the morning, the late time would equal a lack of sleep which was something they'd both regret when they woke up, but for now they drifted, content and curled into each other, dreaming the kind of dreamless sleep that could only be achieved by being so tired you had no energy left to conjure dreams.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever. Sorry.

Murphy woke before Monty did, the clock on the nightstand reading seven in the morning. He untangled himself from Monty, pressing a kiss to his temple when he stirred, reaching out to pull him back in. Murphy resisted the urge to let him and stood up, stretching in the sunlight streaming through the curtains before stepping over to them and pulling them shut. Just because he was awake didn't mean Monty had to be. His first panel wasn't until two that afternoon, so he could sleep in a little bit. At least until Murphy got back.

He had found a store that sold what he was looking for last night and he planned on getting it and getting back before Monty woke up. He dressed himself in his costume, not wanting to have to change his clothes when he got back, and called a cab.

Twenty minutes later he stood in line, a blue child leash in his hand as he waited to check out, his outfit drawing a few strange looks but he just glared in return. He had been joking at first, but then after Monty running off that last time, he had figured that it might help, or at least it would be a funny addition to their cosplay. He hadn't seen any other Steve's on leashes, though after watching the first movie, Murphy was inclined to believe he needed one. He was also inclined to believe that he'd be sleeping on the couch when they got back.

He stopped by a bakery to pick up breakfast and coffee, Monty was going to need it, before hailing another cab and returning to their hotel room, sliding his key through the lock and opening the door quietly, hoping not to disturb Monty's sleep. It proved to be a pointless effort when he saw Monty pacing a circle around the room, already in costume.

“Morning, sunshine.” Murphy greeted with a smile, putting the plastic bag with the backpack leash on the counter by the microwave, “You sleep well?”

“Why didn't you wake me up?” Monty scowled at him, “We could have gone together and then straight to the con.”

“Your first panel isn't until this afternoon, you stayed up late, I thought you could use the sleep.” Murph explained and held up the tray of coffees and white paper bag in his hand, “And I brought breakfast back.”

“That almost makes up for making me late.”

“You aren't late.” Murphy rolled his eyes, “Here, sit down, eat, we can leave when you're done.”

“I'll eat on the way.” Monty told him, trying to attach the shield's straps to his back, fumbling with them and getting nowhere, “Come on, I don't want to be any later than we are.”

“Nope.” Murphy took the shield from him gently and held out the food. “Eat, then we'll go.”

Monty shook his head, grabbing for his shield. “I want to go now, Murphy! If you had just woke me up-”

“Monty, sit down and eat, the con isn't going anywhere.”

“I don't want to lose any more time, Murphy! Come on! Aren't you excited?”

“Nope.” Murphy shook his head, gently pushing Monty towards the bed, guiding him to sit down and shoving the food into his hands, taking his own coffee from the tray.

“Not even a little bit?” Monty asked, smiling wide as he bounced on the bed, opening the bag.

“Nope.”

“But yesterday was fun!”

“I spent most of yesterday worrying about where you ran off to.”

“And I said I'm sorry.”

“I know. I heard. Eat.” Murphy prompted. “How are you so bouncy already this morning?”

“I'm excited.”

“Yeah, well, eat your damn muffin and stop fucking bouncing, you're making me dizzy.” Murphy huffed, “We'll go when you're done.”

“You're just grumpy.” Monty made a face at him and took a bite of the muffin.

“Yes.” Murphy admitted. “And tired.”

“Does that mean you're going to be a jerk today?”

“No. I'll be a little less grumpy when I'm done with this,” He gestured to his coffee. That, and Murphy wasn't generally capable of being much of an ass when he was tired. He was the clingy, overly affectionate kind of tired, something which he wasn't very happy about, since it somewhat ruined his image.

“So you're tired?”

“Not as tired as you're going to be tonight.”

“Oh? What are we doing tonight?” Monty asked with a grin.

“I meant after the con, Monty. I doubt you're going to have the energy to do anything at all tonight.”

“I'm a little disappointed.”

“I'll make it up to you some other night.” Murphy promised, laughing softly. “Hurry up and eat so we can go.”

“So you are excited?”

“Sure. I'm excited.” If he was honest, he had enjoyed the con, even if he found if a little lame, but lame as it was, Monty had been thrilled and him being happy was enough to convince Murphy that a second day of near suffocation by geek media was worth it. And it wasn't like he hadn't found a few things he enjoyed, he probably would like it more if he'd allowed Monty to introduce him to all the nerd culture he'd been trying to get him into since they started dating. Maybe he should pay attention next time Monty decided to marathon some dorky TV show on Netflix.

“Good.” Monty smiled, finishing his breakfast. “Now, let's go.”

“Hold on.” Murphy held up a finger, ignoring Monty's groan of annoyance. “You remember how you promised not to run off yesterday?”

“And then I did and you panicked, yes, I know. I said I'm sorry.” Monty sighed, exasperated. They'd been over this already. Monty was sorry, he wasn't going to do it again, Murphy had nothing to worry about, those stories on the internet weren't true. It had been a long conversation and Monty had no desire to repeat it.

“I know. That's not what I'm saying.” Murphy grabbed the plastic bag from the counter and pulled out the leash, holding it up for Monty to see. “I'm saying I have a solution.”

“A leash.”

“Yes.”

“You want to put me on a leash?” Monty asked, raising an eyebrow and taking the bright blue leash from Murphy's hand.

“Well, when you say it like that it sounds a little weird-”

“Or fetishy.”

“We're sticking with weird. It sounds a little weird, but I did tell you if you ran off I'd do it.”

“I didn't think you meant it.”

“Well, obviously, I did. So?”

“So?” Monty echoed, pulling the tags off the leash and tossing them in the trash.

“I'm waiting for your counter argument. A list of reasons why you won't wear it. Maybe even a threat to make me sleep on the couch?” Murphy watched him unravel the leash, looking at it wit curiosity. He expected more protests, or at the very least a dirty look.

“Nope. I won't be able to wear my shield with this on, will I?”

“No, but the shield is annoying, anyway.”

“Only because you can't cling to me like a koala or something.” Monty joked, examining the leash.

“That's exactly why.” Murphy confirmed with a nod, casting the plastic disk a disapproving glare. “You're going to wear the leash, then?”

“Sure.”

“Really?”

“Why do you look so surprised? It's in character.”

“In character.” Murphy repeated, blinking at him. “So, no complaining? I'm not going to end up sleeping on the couch?”

Monty laughed and shook his head. “No. Here, come help me put it on.”

Murphy nodded, a little unsure. “You sure you got enough sleep?”

“I got like, four hours of sleep. That's more than I expected, honestly, and I actually think the leash is a good idea. I didn't see any other Cap's on leashes at the con, despite his obvious need for one.” Monty slipped his arms through the straps, letting Murphy buckle them for him.

Murphy snorted, “I know, right? The whole thing would have gone a lot smoother had Bucky kept him on a leash. That scrawny little shit couldn't stay out of trouble if his life depended on it.”

“His life usually does, too.” Monty added, testing the straps with his thumbs.

“Too tight?”

“They're fine.”

“Okay. Ready to go?” Murphy asked, looping the end of the leash around his wrist and opening the door.

“Fucking finally.”

* * *

 

 

“What the fuck is that?” Murphy asked, wrinkling his nose as he looked down at the assortment of figures on the table in front of them. He was holding Monty from behind, his arms wrapped around his waist and his head resting on Monty's shoulder as Monty browsed the items for sale. The position made walking slow, but neither of them minded much. Murphy was very glad they'd decided on leaving that shield behind. Hugging turtle-Monty was a near impossible feat.

“That is a Slitheen.” Monty explained, picking up the statue and turning it in his hand awestruck by the amount of detail put into it. “It's from Doctor Who.”

“That's the one with the blue spaceship thing, right?”

“Murphy, you know what a TARDIS is, don't fucking lie.” Monty scolded, setting the statue back down.

Murphy shrugged and smiled, nuzzling Monty's neck, “Yeah, but I like it when you explain things to me.”

“You're sappy when you're tired.”

“Yes.”

“I like it.” Monty said, flipping through a sack of Doctor Who comics. “Which one's your favorite?”

“Which one what?”

“Doctor.”

“Horrible.”

“Of fucking course.” Monty sighed, rolling his eyes, “I meant from this show, you villain loving jerk.”

“Dr. Horrible was not a villain.”

“Yes, he was. That was the entire point of the movie.”

“He wasn't a very good villain.”

“At the end he was a great one.”

“How fucking dare you!” Murphy gasped, making Monty laugh at him. “That was so uncalled for. I can't believe you would say something like that, I thought you loved me-” Murphy cut off with a fake sob.

“Stop it, you dork.” Monty giggled, swatting at him. “Answer my question.”

“Nine.”

“Why?”

“Because I haven't seen One through Eight and don't get me wrong, I liked Ten, especially Martha's arc, but I just liked Nine better. He was cooler.”

“Understandable.”

“Who's yours?”

“Ten. The adipose, babe. They're so freaking cute. And Donna.”

“Donna was great.”

“I miss her so much. The newer episodes are kinda like really bad fanfiction, you know?”

“Mhm.” Murphy agreed. “So, the adipose are your favorite villain?”

“I wouldn't call them a villain, but yeah. They're so cute.” Monty giggled, walking with Murphy away from the table. “Hey, I gotta pee, you wanna let me go?”

“No.” Murphy shook his head.

“Murphy.”

“Fine.” Murphy let go of Monty, slipping the leash off his wrist. “Don't wander off and if you see a brony, run.”

Monty snorted and turned away from him, walking off, Murphy turning back to the booth and smiling at the girl behind the counter.

“You know, we have stuffed Adipose plushes.” She told him, pointing to a box behind her. “There were a few on the table but they were sold and I hadn't gotten a chance to put anymore out.”

Murphy looked from the girl to the box and nodded, reaching for his wallet. Monty was going to love it, and it might help make up for his freak out the day before. Monty could take care of himself and Murphy had overreacted, which was something he did a lot.

The girl handed over a stuffed gray plush and Murphy handed her the money, looking at the toy with a grin, “Thanks.”

“You and your boyfriend are adorable. Couples cosplays are so cute.”

“It was his idea. He made them, I mean, he forced me to help, but he did all the hard work. He was very dedicated to getting them right.” He told her, fiddling with a sonic pen. “I don't think I've ever seen him so stressed about anything.”

“Cosplay takes a lot of effort. He did great on them, they look very close to the real ones.”

“Yeah, he spent hours looking for pictures. He was so dedicated, it was really cute. He does this thing when he concentrates on something, he like, zones out for hours and he bites his lip and it's adorable.” Murphy gushed.

“How long have you been together?”

“Three years. We met after high school. I set fire to the apartment building, accidentally, I assure you, he wanted to kill me because the sprinklers went off and doused one of his computer things, we compromised and went for coffee at three am and I spent the rest of the night trying to help him dry it out. I probably did more harm than good, but I did get a second date.”

“And several more after that.” Monty added, appearing beside Murphy. “You're talking about me?”

The girl nodded, “He told me how cute you are.”

“Oh?” Monty asked, smiling up at Murphy, “And how cute am I?”

Murphy shrugged and pressed a kiss to Monty's forehead, “Very.”

“You two are adorable.” She told them, waving as someone else tried to catch her attention, “Enjoy the con, guys.”

“Thanks.” Monty laughed, and grabbed Murphy's hand, pulling him away from the booth, “I found something I think you'll like.”

“Yeah?” Murphy asked, his eyes scanning the crowd. “Is it a quiet place with no spandex?”

Monty shook his head, “Would you quit acting like you're not having fun? You're not fooling anyone.”

“I have a reputation to uphold, though!” Murphy protested, following Monty.

“Bullshit. You're as much of a geek as I am.”

“Only behind closed doors. Out here I must remain badass and scary.”

“You? Scary? I've seen kittens scarier than you, Bucky.”

“And I've seen ATMs with more sense than you.”

Monty stopped and looked at him, completely exasperated. “Really?”

“Yeah, cause get it? They don't have any-”

“No, no, I got it. I'm just in awe that you said it. Out loud. That was a thing that you thought and then said. After you thought it. Those words came out of your mouth. Actual-”

“Okay, okay, I get it. It was lame.” Murphy chuckled, holding up his hands in surrender.

“Yes, you are.” Monty agreed with a nod. “What's in your hand?”

“Huh?” Murphy asked, looking at his hand. He still held the plush he'd bought for Monty, “Oh, yeah, for you.” He held it out.

“For me?” Monty asked, taking the toy and looking it over, a smile forming on his face, “An adipose?”

“Yeah. The girl at the booth had some and you said you liked them and I thought maybe it would be a good way to apologize for freaking out yesterday?” Murphy explained, watching in amusement as Monty poked at the plush.

“Thank you.” Monty said, looking back up at him. “And you're forgiven. I understand. I mean, you could have handled it better, but I get it.”

“I'll try to handle things better from now on, then.” Murphy promised, reaching out to brush a stray strand of hair from Monty's face, resting his hand on Monty's cheek. “I'm sorry, though, for being an ass about it.”

“Just don't be an ass again.” Monty told him, stepping closer. “If you can. I know it's a fundamental part of your personality and all.”

Murphy snorted, “I think I can manage to be a little nicer.”

“Yeah?”

“It'll be a pain in the ass, but for you, I suppose I could give it an attempt.” Murphy joked.

“Well, in that case, thank you.” Monty played along with a huff of laughter.

Murphy smiled and let his hand drop. “So, what was the thing you wanted to show me?”

“Right!” Monty nodded, “I found a booth I think you'll like. Here, take this.” He held out the leash and Murphy slipped his hand through the loop before taking Monty's hand in his own, letting the younger boy pull him towards their destination. “I saw it on my way back, it's really cool.”

“What is it?”

“A booth.”

“Babe,” Murphy said, rolling his eyes, though Monty couldn't see him. “The show or book or media whatever, what is it?”

“Just hold on, you'll see.” Monty told him, navigating through the crowd of colorful cosplayers. He stopped in front of a dark blue covered booth with a sign with a spaceship and gold letters proclaiming 'STAR TREK' on the top. “Here.”

“Star Trek?” Murphy asked with a raised eyebrow, forcing himself to look unimpressed with the booth in front of him. He couldn't remember ever telling Monty he liked the show, but it was one of his favorites. He was kind of touched Monty had noticed. “That's the one about-”

“That's the one you marathoned for four days straight don't even try that 'I'm too cool for nerdy shows' shit with me, Murphy. I know you. You're a geek, just like everyone else here. Now, go, Captain Spock and his merry band of colorful space explorers.” Monty pushed him towards the booth.

“You know, Spock was captain once.” Murphy told him, letting himself be shoved. “I prefer Kirk, but Spock is definitely my second favorite captain.”

“Yeah? I'm going to admit, this is one of the few I never took the time to get into.”

“Three things you need to know, then. One, Bones is having none of your shit. Two, red shirt equals death, unless it's Scotty, he's the exception, because death is scared of him. And three, Kirk and Spock were totally in love with each other. It was real, it happened.” Murphy explained, fiddling with a replica of the Starship Enterprise.

“Yeah? Who's your favorite character?”

“That unicorn dog, for sure.”

“Murphy.” Monty laughed at him, “I don't think that counts.”

“Oh, so you've seen that one?”

“I've seen bits and pieces, but I do remember the dog. That was amazing.”

“It truly was. A cinematic masterpiece.” Murphy agreed with a sigh, “I think my favorite character would have to be Kirk.”

“Okay, which is better if I want to start watching it? The new movies or the old series?”

“Depends. The new movies are better effects-wise, so the show might let you down a little in that aspect, and the movies are great, the casting was really good, better than I expected it would be, but the show is better because it's longer and there's more character development. It's really either one. I have the first two movies, though, so we could watch the first one and see if you like it?” Murphy offered.

“Popcorn?”

“As long as you don't throw it at me.” Murphy teased.

“I won't. Can we cuddle on the couch?”

“Unless you'd rather watch it in bed.”

“We'd never finish it.” Monty said, picking up a pin on badge and holding it up for Murphy to see.

“Science officer badge. You need operations.” Murphy hovered his hand above the badges on the table before grabbing on and holding it up. “This one, for the computer geek.”

“Hey, this computer geek could work for NASA if he wanted. What are you doing?”

“I'm reading lots of really big books, memorizing unpronounceable Latin terms, and practicing my stitches so I can save lives.” Murphy told him, picking up a badge of his own, “Medical officer.”

“I still can't believe you want to be a doctor like Clarke.”

“Not like Clarke, she's going to be a pediatrician, I'm going to be a trauma surgeon.” Murphy explained. “And I can be a people person.”

“You sure about that?”

“No. But I'll get to cut people open and sew them back up. I can deal with people for that.”

“Or you can just admit to wanting to help people.”

“Or I could not.” Murphy countered, handing over money for the badges to the man at the booth. He pinned his own to his shirt and smiled proudly at Monty. “I should probably take a few courses in astronomy now, huh?”

“Can you handle more coursework?” Monty asked, pinning his own badge to his shirt.

“No, but for space it would be worth it.”

Monty snorted but agreed. “Okay, where to next?”

Murphy looked at his phone, “It's one fifty-two.”

“The panel's at two.” Monty's said, his eyes widening in panic.

“Yup.”

“No, Murphy, the panel is at two and it's on the other side of the building.” Monty explained, looking around for the fastest way there.

“That hall, come on.” Murphy pointed to the hall closest to the doors. “The panel should be just over there.” They started out by working their way towards the panel room, browsing booths and talking to other cosplayers, but Murphy had forgotten to keep an eye on the time. He slipped his phone back in his bag and grabbed Monty's hand. “Come on.”

“Are we going to make it?”

“Yes.” Murphy told him, pulling him along behind him as he weaved through the throngs of people, working his way to the hall and through it. They ended up having to go through two other halls and back track once because they'd taken wrong turn, but eventually they ended up inside the right room with a couple minutes to spare.

The only seats left were in the back row but they managed to find a few on the end, Monty shoving Murphy into it and sitting down on his lap. Murphy's arms instinctively came up to wrap around his waist but he looked at him in confusion, “There's a seat right next to me.”

“So? I like this better.”

“It doesn't make you much taller.” Murphy told him, looking towards the front where the panel was beginning, being in the back made it a little hard to see, but there was a screen up, so it worked out fine.

“Who said that was the point?” Monty asked, smirking. He wrapped an arm around Murphy's shoulders and Murphy laid his head over onto him, sighing contentedly. Monty smiled down at him, “It does make me taller than you, though. I feel like a giant.”

“Just don't tear down any walls while you're up there, okay?”

Monty giggled and turned his attention to the front.

Murphy did the same, for once actually interested in what the people had to say. The panel was for one of the shows he'd actually let Monty convince him to watch. Firefly, and he had ended up liking it a lot. It should have had another season, or four, and he was kind of pissed that there wasn't, even more pissed that Monty hadn't told him that before getting him to watch it. That had been very unfair, and Monty had laughed for ten minutes straight when Murphy asked him when season two would be on Netflix. They'd ended up watching Serenity together and then Murphy had made Monty watch Dr. Horrible for the eighth time as revenge. Not that Monty was phased, but Murphy had whined pathetically for a little while.

* * *

 

“Okay, so what now?” Murphy asked, stretching as they left the room.

“Something with caffeine, please.” Monty told him with a yawn.

“Getting sleepy?” Murphy asked, his tone teasing as he poked Monty's side. “Should have gone to bed earlier.”

“You stayed up as long as I did. And it's not like you suggested we sleep any sooner.”

“Since when have I been the responsible one in our relationship?”

“Maybe you should start.”

“What? Should I enforce a bedtime now?” Murphy asked.

“No, but maybe next time you should mention that it's three in the morning instead of just ignoring the clock.”

“Because I was totally paying attention to the clock. Yup. My attention was on the clock and not on you, in my lap, with your tongue-”

Monty cut him off with a light slap to his chest, “Okay, fine. I get it. We were both irresponsible about it.”

“I don't see how I was considering I'm wide awake-”

“Oh, shut up.” Monty told him, rolling his eyes, walking towards the vendor with the shortest line, “You want something to eat?” He asked him, stopping to look at the menu board.

Murphy shrugged and pulled Monty close, “You.” He told him, burying his face in Monty's neck.

“I need to keep you sleep deprived more often.” Monty laughed, pleased by the attention. Murphy usually wasn't so affectionate in public, but his tiredness seemed to make him clingy and cuddly and Monty found himself enjoying it a lot. “But food, Murphy, I need food.”

“Thought you wanted caffeine?”

“I want that, too.” Monty told him, leaning back against Murphy's chest. “What do you want?”

“A nap.”

“Well, you can't have that.”

“Why not?” Murphy asked, lifting his head up to pout at Monty.

“Aren't you the one who's wide awake?” Monty teased, turning around in Murphy's arms so he was facing him. “I've got one more panel that I want to see, it's not for a couple hours, but after that we can go back to the room and sleep, okay?”

“Okay.” Murphy nodded, giving Monty a peck on the cheek. “Now, we should probably stop holding up the line.”

* * *

 

“No, I think that Robin was great, but I also think he was better as Nightwing because it gave him a chance to be a hero, not just a sidekick. And it's not like there haven't been like, a thousand Robins since.” Murphy explained. “I love Robin, probably more than any other character in the DC franchise, besides Harley Quinn, but Nightwing was better for him.”

“Yeah, I get that. I just prefer Dick as Robin to like, any of the others, personally.”

“That, I can agree with.” Murphy nodded, tossing his empty cup into a nearby trashcan. “But the original costume-”

“Oh, god, please don't.” Monty laughed. “I had forgotten about that. That was an atrocity.”

“I'm surprised he didn't get locked up in Arkham just for that.” Murphy snorted.

“Honestly, I- Oh, hey, Murphy, look!” Monty stopped, pointing off to the side. “Come on!” He ordered, taking off in the direction of whatever it was he had noticed.

Murphy looked up, trying to figure out what Monty was doing. He opened his mouth to ask but all that came out was, “Fuck!” Monty had forgotten that the leash was looped around Murphy's wrist and he'd ended up jerking Murphy to the side, his arm outstretched and his jaw clenched in pain.

“Shit, Murphy.” Monty hurried back to his side, the leash slacking and Murphy pulling his arm to his chest, stretching it out again with a small wince.

“Jesus, Monty. Please remember, it's fake, my arm is not actually robotic and therefore doesn't come unattached.” He told him, rubbing his wrist where the leash strap had dug into it.

“Are you alright?” Monty asked, taking the strap off of Murphy's wrist completely, frowning at the red mark left behind. “I'm sorry. I forgot about the leash.”

“It's fine.” Murphy told him, shaking his head. “More shocking than painful.”

“You sure?” Monty asked, touching Murphy hand just below the red mark. He brought it to his lips and gave it a soft peck, careful not to hurt it. “There. Better?” He asked with a small grin.

Murphy breathed out a laugh, “A little.”

Monty let Murphy's hand drop and reached up to cup Murphy's cheek, pulling him down to his level. He hesitated for a second, his lips a couple inches from Murphy's, “Can I kiss you? Out here, I mean?” Murphy had been a lot more affectionate today, but he tended to shy away from huge displays of public affection, but Monty figured it couldn't hurt to ask.

Murphy's eyes scanned the crowd, several people had stopped to stare, a couple even had cameras ready and it honestly freaked Murphy out a little bit. He didn't understand why they would be so interested in this, but he didn't care as much as he probably should. Might as well do it, after all, they were in costume. He nodded, “Sure. I think they're expecting a show.”

“Then let's give them one.” Monty whispered, closing the distance between them and kissing Murphy, his free hand grabbing onto one of the straps on Murphy's costume to pull him closer.

Murphy kissed back, letting Monty take control, reasoning to himself that it was more in character. He felt Monty bite his lip and opened his mouth for him, allowing him to deepen the kiss. Monty's tongue brushed against his and Murphy's hand flew up to tangle in his hair, his other one resting on Monty's hip. He saw the flashes of a few cameras around them and heard the 'click' of several others and he smirked into the kiss, letting out a quiet moan when Monty swirled his tongue around his. He wasn't sure if it was the people around them or the costumes -so maybe he had a new kink, sue him- but he was trying to weigh out the consequences of finding an empty room so they could continue there.

As if sensing Murphy's train of thought, Monty broke the kiss with a smirk, sucking in a breath before kissing along Murphy's jawline, stopping to whisper in his ear, “We're keeping the costumes, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Murphy agreed, swallowing hard when Monty pulled away completely. “Definitely keeping the costumes.

Monty chuckled, handing the leash back to Murphy who was still coming to his senses, “That was much better than a room full of decapitated heads.”

“Don't get used to it.” Murphy told him, wrapping the leash around his unhurt wrist. “I still don't like people watching me.”

“No?” Monty asked, leading Murphy in the direction he'd been trying to go in the beginning. “Fair enough.”

“The costumes made it less weird, though.”

Monty slowed so Murphy was walking beside him. “I really do think we should keep them.”

“I'm not complaining.”

“You know, if that offer to help me take it off still stands...” Monty trailed off.

Murphy looked at him in confusion, trying to remember when he'd said that. After a second he nodded. Yesterday morning. Instead of going to the con. Right. “It stands. But not tonight.”

“Why not?” Monty whined.

“Because you will be way too tired.” Murphy told him. “This the thing?”

“This is the thing.” Monty nodded, stopping them in front of a display of Avengers related merchandise. “It's the first one I've seen since we got here, surprisingly. And I won't be too tired. I had like, two energy drinks, I will be wide awake.”

“Yeah?” Murphy asked with a raised eyebrow. “Okay, how about this, if you're still awake, then you can top, Cap.”

“And if I'm not?”

“What's it matter? I thought you weren't going to lose?” Murphy teased.

“I'm not. I just want to know what the other side of this bet is.”

“Mm.” Murphy shrugged, wrapping his arms around Monty, “I don't know. How about if you lose, then you have to watch all of Daredevil with me. Marathon it, on the couch, with popcorn and gummy bears.”

“Murphy, we've done that already.”

“I know.”

“It's not much of a prize.”

“Who cares? You aren't going to lose, anyway, right?” Murphy asked, “No, I think the ivory one looks better.” He pointed to one of the shirts Monty had looked at. “The red one is not that great.”

“Yeah? Why can't you call it white?” Monty took the white one in his hand and compared the two, both of them boasting Captain America in Uncle Sam's pose, deciding that Murphy was right, he handed the yellow one to Murphy to hold while he folded the green one back up. “And I know I'm not going to lose, but fine. If that's what you want.”

“It is. And it's because I spend too much time with Clarke.” Murphy told him and hugged Monty tighter, the younger giggling as he paid for his shirt.

“You can't complain. She's the one who introduced us, you know.”

“Yeah, well, just cause I owe her an eternity's worth of helping with her art crap doesn't mean I can't complain about it.”

“Please, you love her.” Monty told him, fumbling around to shove his shirt into Murphy's bag without leaving his arms.

Murphy snickered at Monty's failed attempts and finally opened the bag for him, “And you.” _'And all of your dorky friends.'_ But Murphy was never going to admit that out loud.

* * *

 

Monty shrugged, “No, see, I really don't get it. Like, the universes are completely separate, right? Why choose?”

“Because the idea of being allowed to like more than one thing is too much for them to handle? It's one of the reasons why I don't like nerds.”

“You like me.”

“I love you. But nerds in general, Monty, not as people, but as a concept. And anyway, as long as DC and Marvel never cross over, ever, at all, then it's fine to enjoy both.”

“Crossovers are weird.” Monty agreed. “That being said, Quicksilver and the Flash.”

“Hawkeye and Green Arrow.”

“Black Widow and Harley Quinn, though. Imagine how badass.”

“Badass? That's fucking terrifying.” Murphy shook his head. “They'd be unstoppable together.”

“Good thing Harley's a villain and Widow's a hero, then.”

“And they're from two different universes.”

“Okay, but imagine; Black Widow, Peggy Carter, BatGirl, Raven, Storm, Black Canary, and Artemis versus Poison Ivy, Mystique, Harley Quinn, Phoenix, and Jinx, because let's be real, she was awesome, all in one movie. The ultimate crossover.”

“No. The world couldn't handle it.” Murphy shook his head. “It would be amazing, though.”

“Like, all girl movie, right? None of them sexualized. All of them badass.”

“Watch the dudebros squirm.”

“The only male superhero is Deadpool and he's only there for like two minutes to ask for an autograph and a group selfie.”

Murphy grinned wide, “Okay, but is there a way to make that happen? Because that has to happen.”

“The sheer amount of badassery would destroy the theater.” Monty told him, his eyes bright with excitement.

“Worth it.”

“So worth it.” Monty agreed with a nod. “So-”

“On your left.” Monty and Murphy both turned to see whoever had spoken from beside them.

“Sam?”

“Shh, I'm in uniform, Cap.” He laughed. “Yeah. Cool costumes.”

“Same to you.” Monty told him, admiring the wings on his back. “Those look so real.”

“They work.”

“No shit?” Murphy asked, in awe. He wasn't even trying to hide his admiration, this guy's costume was great, definitely the best Falcon he'd seen at the con.

“Yeah, I have a friend, her name is Raven, she helped me with them. Wanna see?” The Falcon cosplayer asked them, stepping back.

“Hell yeah.” They answered, nodding enthusiastically.

“Okay, watch this.” He told them, pressing a button on his suit, his wings expanding behind him quickly. “All metal, too, not plastic. I haven't tried to jump off a building yet, but I'm like, fifty percent certain they'd work.” He told them, proudly. “Took forever, but Raven helped.”

“She must be extremely talented.” Monty marveled. “And obviously you are, too.”

“Thanks.” He smiled, ducking his head slightly and closing his wings up. “I'm Miller, by the way. Nathan Miller.” He held out his hand to them.

“Monty Green.” Monty took the offered hand, giving it a shake before pointing to Murphy, “And this is John Murphy, who is still staring. Forgive him, he's rude.” Monty said, poking Murphy to startle him back to Earth.

Miller snorted. “'S'fine. I stared for at least half an hour when she showed them to me.”

“Sorry,” Murphy apologized, “Monty made our costumes.”

“Yeah? They're great, dude.” Miller gave him a smile.

Murphy raised an eyebrow and inched closer to Monty, “Yeah, he stabbed me with pins, like, a thousand times.”

“Being a real life mannequin has it's hazards.” Miller nodded. “You guys mind if we take a picture? The leash is great, by the way. Bucky honestly needed to get one.”

“I know, right?” Murphy agreed, letting Monty pull him closer for the photo. By the time this con was over they'd have enough to fill a scrapbook. Not that Murphy had a scrapbook. He might end up getting one, though. “Everything would have gone so much smoother. 'Oh, you're going to fly a plane into ice? Nah, don't think so.'”

“Honestly.” Miller nodded.

“Hey, you mind emailing that to me?” Monty asked, pointing to Miller's phone. “It'd be cool to have a copy.”

“Yeah, sure,” Miller messed with his phone a bit, “Just give me your email and I'll send it.”

Monty complied and Miller smiled. “Sent it.”

“Awesome.”

“Yeah-”

“Miller! Miller, Jesus fuck, you were supposed to meet me in Hall A ten minutes ago.” A vaguely familiar voice called out, making all three of their heads turn.

A Black Widow cosplayer walked up to them, looking somewhat unhappy. “The panel starts in fifteen minutes and I'd rather not get stuck in the back again.”

Murphy stared at her for a minute, piecing together how he knew her voice. “Wait, Raven?”

“Yeah, that's my Raven. She did the wings.” Miller beamed proudly.

“Raven Reyes?” Monty caught on, a smile forming on his face.

“Yeah.” She confirmed, smiling at them. “Good to see you again, Monty and um, okay, well, Bellamy has a lot of names for you, but I'm assuming 'best friend stealing asshole' is not your real name?” She asked with a smirk.

“Murphy.” Murphy told her.

“That's the one.” She looked at them both, “It's been a while.”

“A year and a half.”

She walked over to stand by Miller and began to explain, “I've known these two for a while. Monty longer than his boyfriend, but Bell knows him, so, ya know, small world. He stole Clarke from him.”

“I did not.” Murphy defended himself. “If Bellamy wants her back he's welcome to her. Last week her weirdo girlfriend tried to dye my hair blue and Clarke spent an hour lecturing me on how it was actually aqua and that it would look good. Please, if he wants her back, let him take her. I love my hair too much for this shit.”

“I'll tell him you said that. Don't think it'll make up for much, though.” She shrugged, “Anyway, we hung out a before everyone split and went to different colleges. Bell and I to one, Clarke, Monty, and Murphy to another.”

“Jasper took Harper and Monroe with him.” Monty pointed out.

“I think Octavia is in Australia, she's got a boyfriend there, right?”

“Yep.” Raven confirmed. “Bell isn't too happy about that.”

“Of course not, he's an overprotective ass.”

“Says the guy with his boyfriend on a leash.”

Murphy huffed and crossed his arms, ignoring the fact that she had a point.

“Don't pout.” Monty scolded, leaning against him.

Raven's phone went off, “Shit, that's the alarm. Okay, so, we've got like, ten minutes to get to our panel. We'll be at Bell's house next week, though, you coming?”

Murphy resisted the urge to make a joke and nodded, “Yeah. Tell him I miss him.”

“He'll laugh.”

“I know.”

“See you around, then?” Miller asked as Raven started to drag him away.

“Of course. It was nice to meet you.” Monty said, waving.

“We're going to Bellamy's, then.” Murphy sighed, “Well, as long as he doesn't try to strangle me.”

“He won't. You two have the strangest friendship, ever.”

“Built on mutually attempted murder and the fact that I was Octavia's babysitter all through high school.” Honestly, the only reason he'd met Bellamy was because he'd driven Octavia home from a party. He hadn't known who she was, but if he had have, he would have left her on the porch or something to avoid being pinned against a wall and having his life threatened. The only reason he came out of it alive was because he was too surprised to do anything other than tell Bellamy to 'Chill.' Good times.

“Right, well, I think we should start heading towards our last panel, yeah?”

“Probably.”

Monty took a hold of Murphy hand as they walked towards their hall, stopping at a few random booths, ending up buying a few more things that all got stuck in Murphy's bag. The stopped at a booth selling various Deadpool themed merchandise and Murphy made them stop. “It's so cute.”

“You want a stuffed Deadpool?” Monty asked, raising his eyebrows. “I thought you were too punk for stuffed animals.”

“It's not a stuffed animal, it's a stuffed Deadpool. And besides, stuffed animals are totally punk rock.”

Monty giggled, “Okay, but I'm trying to picture you sleeping with a teddy bear.”

“I have no need. I sleep with you.” He told him, picking up the stuffed toy. “It's so cute, Monty.”

“Buy it, then.”

“Good plan.” Murphy nodded. He paid for the toy and held it up to Monty's face. “Look at him, Monty, he's adorable.”

“Adorable and rude and slightly murderous. You two are practically twins.”

Murphy laughed and put his arm around Monty, who moved closer, falling into step with Murphy, smiling contentedly. “So, now that you have a Deadpool, I guess you don't need me, anymore, huh?”

“Nonsense. You are my husband, he is our child, we shall raise him together.” Murphy joked.

“Right, well, you can go to the parent teacher conferences. I'm sure there'll be a lot.” Monty played along. “So, how do you expect to balance college and a child?”

“Well, that's easy. We can get uncle Bellamy to babysit. He's a professor, he can take him to work. I'm sure he'll have no problem with getting little Wade to take a nap. His lectures can put anyone to sleep.”

“Right, that'll work real well.” Monty could just picture what that would be like. “If we ever have a child, Bellamy's not taking it to work. We'd never get it back.”

“If we have a child?”

“The future holds many possibilities.” Monty shrugged. “It might happen.”

“I'd be okay with that.” Murphy said, causing Monty to look up at him.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I mean, I'll be a trauma surgeon, you'll be working for NASA or whatever, we'll definitely have the means to raise a child.”

“Assuming you still want this after college.”

“After college, after med school, after we're old and gray and you can barely hear me say 'I love you' so I'll have to shout it really loud, just so you know.” Murphy pressed a kiss to Monty's temple, “Always going to want that. Always going to want you.”

“You're sappy when you're tired. I love it.” Monty hummed. “So, does that mean you're going to ask me to marry you or something?”

“Not dressed like this.”

Monty laughed quietly and Murphy stopped, pulling him close for a second, just holding him there. “Murph?”

“Shh.”

“What's up.”

“I love you.”

Monty smiled and buried his face in Murphy's chest, wishing Murphy were more open with his affection when he wasn't tired. Maybe they could work on that. They stood there for a second before Murphy let go, smiling at Monty.

“Is that a leash?” A Loki cosplayer walked up to them, smirking. “I didn't know you were someone's _pet_ Captain.”

“I'm not his pet.” Monty sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Then why are you on a leash? One of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, I think not.” Loki tsked. “I guess with no one threatening your tiny planet you've grown docile, domesticated. Tell me, do you have a mat and a bowl, too?”

Monty glared at the cosplayer, “It's just a leash, I'm nobody's pet. Where's Thor? Shouldn't he be watching you? You call me a pet, but you're the one who's supposed to be caged.”

Murphy snorted, covering it by rubbing his nose. Loki stood there, a little taken aback, but it didn't last long. “I've offended you? Touched on something a little close to home, then? A question, my dear Captain, your role as his pet, is it-” The look Loki gave him telling him exactly what he meant to say.

“No.” Monty cut him off, a blush forming on his cheeks. “It's not.”

“Oh, well-”

“Stop.” Murphy told him, his voice hard, holding a warning. He understood the teasing, Loki was a villain, it was to be expected, but he wouldn't stand for anyone making Monty uncomfortable. “It's all fun, I get it, but don't make him any more uncomfortable than you already have.”

The cosplayer opened their mouth to reply but seemed to think better of it and nodded, “Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.”

Monty forced a smile, “It's fine. No harm done.”

The cosplayer nodded and walked away, leaving them standing alone outside the door to their next panel. Murphy looked at Monty and frowned, “Come here. Let's take this off, okay?”

“It's f-”

“Monty, come on. You're upset, let me fix it.” Murphy told him, undoing the buckles of the leash and sliding it off of Monty. “There.”

“Thanks.”

“Come here.” Murphy held his arms out and Monty accepted the hug, Murphy pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “You are not a pet, okay? You're Captain fucking America.”

“I know. I'm just tired, that's all.”

“Well, come on, one more panel, then we can go back to the room and sleep, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Monty smiled and pulled away from Murphy. “One more, then sleep.” He pulled Murphy into the room, finding a place for them to sit. He spent the few minutes before the panel's start flipping through one of the comics he'd bought earlier, Murphy watching him, finding it cute the way he got absorbed in the fictional world. He felt bad for suggesting the leash in the first place, but it had been cute at first. In the end it was more trouble than it had been worth, but Monty seemed to be alright.

Once the panel started, Murphy poked him, pulling him from the comic world. Monty tucked the comic away with a yawn and leaned against Murphy, watching the people up front.

Twenty minutes in, Monty's head dropped against Murphy's shoulders and Murphy looked over at him, smiling softly when he realized Monty had fallen asleep. He brushed a few hairs from his face and let him stay there, seeing no point in waking him up. The panel had been boring enough to put him to sleep once, waking him now wouldn't be fair.

So he sat there, Monty asleep on his shoulder, drawing looks from a few other con goers, and a rather loud 'aww' from one of the closer ones, causing Murphy to glare at them, worried they'd wake Monty.

“They're so cute.” He heard someone whisper behind him.

“Yeah, I think I've seen them around today, they're actually together, they kissed in the hall earlier. Anna has a picture.”

“Really?”

“Mhm. She said they were really in character when she saw them the other day.”

Murphy felt a small rush of pride. He hadn't really been aiming on being in character, more on just surviving the con, but it was good that he'd done something right, at least. He tuned out their conversation, focusing on the panel for the last of it, waiting until the room cleared to wake Monty.

He shook him gently, Monty's eyes fluttering as he mumbled a sleepy, “What?”

“It's time to go. Wake up, babe.”

“Don't wanna.”

“You have to. Let's go back to the room, you can sleep there, okay?” Murphy prompted, trying to get his sleepy boyfriend up before the room filled with people again.

Monty nodded and sat up, rubbing his eyes, “Does this mean I lost?”

“Afraid so.” Murphy said with a huff of a laugh. “Gotta watch Daredevil with me.”

“Not so terrible. Wanted to top, though.”

“You can still do that, you know.” Murphy laughed. “Let's go now, okay?”

“Okay.” Monty nodded, standing up. He swayed a little and ended up crashing against Murphy's chest, closing his eyes again. “I can sleep here.”

“No, hey, wake up.” Murphy pushed him away, trying to get him to stand up. It wasn't working in the slightest. He sighed and turned around, “Alright, we'll do it like this.”

“What?”

“Piggy back ride, Sleeping Beauty. We need to get out of here, you're half asleep, it'll work best this way.” Murphy explained.

Monty nodded and climbed on, wrapping his arms around Murphy's neck and laying his head on his back. “I love you.”

“Love you, too. Let's get out of here now.” Murphy told him, heading out the door.

This hadn't been nearly as bad as he'd expected, and Monty enjoyed it, so Murphy was content. Hell, if Monty wanted to come back next year, he'd be on board with it. Okay, maybe he'd enjoyed it more than he let on, but that didn't matter at them moment, what mattered was getting Monty to bed so he could sleep properly. Next time they would have to remember to actually sleep instead of staying up half the night. They wouldn't actually do it, but they'd remember that they should have.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Feedback is loved!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feedback is loved. Find me at: [assholemurphy](http://assholemurphy.tumblr.com/)


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